The playoffs have arrived after a very nice ten week season in year one of the UFL. It’s Stallions, Panthers, Brahmas, and BattleHawks… oh my. They are the 4 teams left standing after a ten week season. The Stallions are trying for a three peat as they won the last two USFL titles. The Panthers are looking for that 1983 magic. Could AJ McCarron be the next Kurt Warner in St.Louis winning it all? The city of San Antonio has finally found a permanent home at the Alamo Dome. Those spring teams of the past they want to forget as they want to be like those great Spurs teams that collected championships. The playoffs start with two rematches from week ten. Which two teams will you meet in St. Louis for the first ever UFL championship? We take a stab at it and throw out two predictions as we preview the playoff match ups. Hope you enjoy.

USFL CONFERENCE

#2. MICHIGAN PANTHERS (7-3) AT BIRMINGHAM STALLIONS (9-1)

HEAD TO HEAD THIS SEASON: Stallions swept the 2 games versus the Panthers in regular season.

The number 3 is a very important number for both the Stallions and the Panthers. For the Stallions they are looking to win their third championship in a row. For the Panthers they are looking at number 3 as third time is the charm after losing to the Stallions twice this season. Last week these teams met in Birmingham for the final week of regular season, and the Panthers shot themselves in the paws late in that game with a commanding lead of 16-6. Jake Bates missed a walk off field goal for the Panthers. It was 20-19 Stallions win as they clinched the number one seed. The first meeting was another close game earlier in the season as the Stallions prevailed. At the time, Skip Holtz was rolling out two quarterbacks to see what he had. The Panthers are no slouch as they won 5 straight games before losing to the Stallions in the final week of the season.

THE BREAK DOWN

THE QUARTERBACK POSITION

The quarterback position is the most important position on the field. The Stallions have this advantage as they have one of the best quarterbacks in the UFL with Adrian Martinez. Martinez is a duel threat quarterback that can actually beat you with his arm and legs. He has struggled a little bit the last few weeks. Does that open up the door for the Panthers to prowl?

The Panthers kryptonite is the quarterback position. The Panthers have played musical chairs all season with the quarterback position. Started off with EJ Perry. Then Danny Etling. Bryce Perkins got some time and there may be another two names we are not mentioning. The Panthers are going with Etling as he’s been pretty good. He needs a strong running game with the stingy defense and not make any mistakes to win versus a good Stallions team.

EDGE: STALLIONS

THE PLAY MAKERS

The Stallions have a factory of play makers. They can run the ball using a three headed monster back field that consists of CJ Marable, Ricky Person, and Larry Rountree. They have the best tight end in Jace Sternberger. The have a trio of wide receivers that can kill you in any game that features Deon Cain, Marlon Williams and Kevin Austin Jr.

The Panthers I would give the slight edge to their running game that features Matt Colburn. He could be the X and Y factor when it comes to beating the Stallions. The Panthers have some talent at the wide receiver position with Marcus Simms, one of the best in the league, and Siaasi Mariner who has emerged as a nice weapon for Michigan.

EDGE: STALLIONS

THE DEFENSE

Both the Panthers and Stallions defense are lean mean fighting machines. The Stallions front seven may be the best in the UFL. Carlos Davis is a mad man on the field who can create havoc and kill your quarterback for the Stallions. The Panthers’ Breeland Speaks led the UFL in sacks with 9.5 this season. The Panther defense allows 19 points per game while the Stallions only allow 18 points per game. The Stallions are ranked two in the UFL averaging only allowing 259.5 yards per game. While Panthers are 4th and allowing 263.1. The X-factor, the Stallions defense, has not been the same after John Chavis, their defensive coordinator, had to leave the team. Overall I give both defenses a draw.

EDGE: DRAW

The Panthers have the better kicker in Jake Bates, but outside like last week his long distance kicks don’t hit like they do at Ford Field inside the dome. I like the fact that Skip Holtz has been here and done that. I thought perhaps history could repeat itself as this is the very first season of the merger that formed the UFL. Let’s take the time machine hot tub back in time when the Panthers won the very first USFL championship in 1983. This philosophy does not work all the time. It’s hard to beat the same team three times in one season. I like the Stallions chances. They have the better team. They get it done at home.

OUR PREDICTION: BIRMINGHAM

THE XFL CONFERENCE

#2.SAN ANTONIO BRAHMAS (7-3) AT #1.ST.LOUIS BATTLEHAWKS (7-3)

HEAD TO HEAD THIS SEASON: BattleHawks swept the two game series

The Brahmas and BattleHawks finished with the same record of 7-3, but the division belongs to St. Louis beating San Antonio twice. Last week the Brahmas and BattleHawks faced each other in the last game of the season. St.Louis escaped with the division title with 13-12 injury. St.Louis has lost 2 out of the last 4 games. St.Louis was playing without their starting quarterback, AJ McCarron, who had an ankle issue for two of those games. McCarron returned last week and was very rusty but still helped his team pull out a key victory. The Brahmas thrive when Chase Garbers is the team’s starting quarterback. He missed six games this season due to a wrist injury. Garbers re-injured that wrist in the first half in last week’s game.

Which quarterback will make it on the field for this Sunday’s playoff game? It is the million dollar question? I like AJ McCarron over Chase Garbers injured or not. McCarron has more experience and grit to get through the pain. I like St. Louis’ back up situation with Manny Wilkens over the gift wrapper Quintin Dormady for San Antonio.

EDGE: BATTLEHAWKS

PLAY MAKERS

The Brahmas and BattleHawks have a slew of play makers. I like St.Louis having the better receivers as San Antonio has the better back field. The BattleHawks can give opposing teams mismatches with AJ McCaron’s biggest target in the league, Hakeem Butler. They also have the XFL leading in 2022 wide receiver Jacour Pearson who played for the Seattle Sea Dragons. Pearson starting to gel with McCarron. The Brahmas have some great weapons in Jontre Kirklin, who’s their number one guy. They have old reliable Cody Latimer as well. The BattleHawks has the edge. San Antonio’s running back Anthony McFarland is a game changer. McFarland can carry the ball and catch balls out of the back field for chunks of yardage. When he gets in the open field, good luck. The Brahmas also can attack you with John Lovett. The BattleHawks bring Jerry Saylors to the table – one of the best ball carriers in the league. I think the play makers are a wash for both teams in this match up.

EDGE: DRAW

On offense the Brahmas get the yards per game as they average 296.6 yards per game which is 4th in the UFL. The BattleHawks average 272.1 yards per game which is 6th in the league. Points it flip flops. The Brahmas average 19 points per game which is 6th in the league. Then BattleHawks average 26 points per contest which is number two in the UFL.

DEFENSE

The Brahmas and BattleHawks have two of the best defenses in the league. I think the 4 best defenses have made the post-season this year in the UFL. The Brahmas give up the least amount of yards in the league. The BattleHawks are third in that department. The Brahmas defense surrenders 15.3 points per game which is number one. The BattleHawks are not too shabby either surrendering 20.2points per contest which is 4th in the UFL. The Brahmas get to the quarterback as they have 32 sacks which is good for number one in that category. The BattleHawks fall to number 7 with only 19 sacks. The BattleHawks are ball hawks tallying up 9 interceptions which is good for number 2 overall. The Brahmas are down at the bottom number 8 getting their hands on the ball in the air. Wade Phillips head coach of the Brahmas knows a thing or two about defense as that is his jam. Brahmas get the edge on defense.

EDGE: BRAHMAS

These teams are evenly matched. The biggest factor in this game is an advantage for St. Louis. The crowd!! The stands will be packed and that will play a factor on any visiting team. I think St.Louis has the edge on special teams. I like the BattleHawks coaching staff having an edge over the Brahmas. St.Louis has multiple X NFL players on their staff that know the game and scheme well. Anthony Becht is 3-0 life time over Wade Phillips’ teams dating back to 2023. I like AJ McCarron doing his Tom Brady imitation and taking his team to the championship in his own backyard.

OUR PICK: BATTLEHAWKS